VA Tech Wabag advanced 1.24% to Rs 1669 at 10:35 IST on BSE, after the company secured an order worth around Rs 250 crore from Indian Oil Corporation to set up an effluent treatment plant at Paradip Refinery.

The company announced the new order win during trading hours today, 18 November 2010.

Nifty November 2010 futures were at 6,035.50, at a premium of 36.70 points over spot closing of 5,998.80. Turnover in NSE's futures & options (F&O) segment jumped to Rs 216054.55 crore from Rs 191295.59 crore on Tuesday, 16 November 2010, as traders rolled over positions from the near month November 2010 series to December 2010 series ahead of the expiry of the November 2010 contracts next Thursday, 25 November 2010.

SKS Microfinance slumped 20% to Rs 642.80 at 11:22 IST after the microfinance company warned that an ordinance enacted on 15 October 2010, by Andhra Pradesh government on collections could have an impact on its profitability.

The announcement was made on Wednesday, 17 November 2010, when the Indian equity markets were shut for public holiday.

The key benchmark indices edged higher in a highly volatile trading session on firm global stocks. Stocks rose across the world on expectations that Ireland will soon accept a bailout package from the European Union and International Monetary Fund. The 50-unit S&P CNX Nifty closed slightly below the psychological 6,000 mark after alternatively moving above and below that level throughout the day.

Crude prices ended lower for fourth consecutive day on Wednesday, 17 November 2010 at Nymex. Prices fell inspite of a weak dollar but tried to reverse course after energy department reported a major drop in crude and crude product stockpiles for last week. Still, prices ended substantially lower, perhaps due to weak economic data.

The Indian market was hit by a thunderstorm on Tuesday, with the key indices ending near the lowest point of the day amid a global sell off. What’s worse, the slump came on huge volumes with the total market turnover surpassing the Rs 2 lakh crore.

It probably was a welcome break for the bulls considering the battering they have taken in recent days. But for Axis Bank it was business as usual, as the private bank snapped up the equity broking and investment banking operations of Enam. It would be interesting to see how the market reacts to the swap ratio.

The key benchmark indices may open flat to marginally higher as most Asians stocks rebounded from the recent sharp losses. Trading of S&P CNX Nifty futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicate that the Nifty could see a flat opening.

In macro news, the government will unveil data on some wholesale price indices for the year through 6 November 2010 viz. the food price index, the primary articles index and the fuel price index at about 12:00 IST.

US stocks ended with substantial losses on Tuesday, 16 November 2010. Stocks started and ended the session in the red. Big sell off at China market in the previous day sent jitters across Wall Street where traders anticipated that a rate cut to curb inflation might be in the offing. Other than that, there were economic reports that checked in mixed in nature.

Precious metals ended mixed on Wednesday, 17 November 2010 at Comex. Silver ended marginally higher while gold ended marginally lower. Prices took advantage of the weak dollar. Prices also remained higher as reports indicated that physical demand for gold remained steady in the third quarter period.

Axis Bank chief Shikha Sharma on Wednesday played a masterstroke by clinching a Rs 2,067 crore all-stock deal to take over the highly lucrative investment banking and equity businesses of Enam Securities.